San Francisco Gays Protest 6 Gay Iraqi Murders;
April 6, 5 PM, Harvey Milk Plaza
Over the weekend, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters news wires, along with CNN, have reported on the murders of six gay men in the slums of Baghdad in recent weeks.
This is one news account of the anti-gay violence:
Residents told AFP that the bodies of two men aged 16 and 18 were found on waste ground on the outskirts of Sadr City, and that several days previously two homosexuals had been dumped in the street with their arms and legs broken.
During Friday prayers in Sadr City, a poor district of Baghdad where some two million Iraqis live, Sheikh Jassem al-Mutairi slammed what he called "new private practices by some men who dress like women, who are effeminate.
And this round-up of bad news is from the ThinkProgress site:
An Iraqi defense ministry official reports that at least six gay men have been shot dead in two separate incidents during the past 10 days in a Shia-controlled part of Baghdad. The official said today that three bullet-riddled bodies of gay individuals have been identified in Sadr City:
“Three corpses of homosexuals have been recovered in Sadr City. Two of the bodies, found on Thursday, had pieces of paper attached on which was written the word ‘Pervert.’ The third body was retrieved on Friday,” the official said.
Other dead bodies had the word “puppies” written on their chests. Puppy is a derogatory word used by residents in Sadr City to refer to gays. Witnesses told CNN that a Sadr City cafe, which was a popular gathering spot for gays, was also set on fire.
In response to the gay murders, longtime affordable housing and queer community organizer Tommi Avicolli Mecca, gay Board of Supervisors' member Bevan Dufty and myself will be holding a speak out against the killings, and the U.S. occupation of Iraq, on Monday.
Here are the details:
WHAT: Rally and speak out over gay murders in Iraq
WHEN April 6
TIME: 5 PM
WHERE: Harvey Milk Plaza, Castro and Market Streets
Please join us for this important early evening street visibility action to call attention and object to the homo-hatred in Iraq. More details on the action to follow later today and tomorrow.
You may already know about this author, but in the event you don't,
ReplyDeleteBruce Bawer is a gay American writer living in Norway. He has contributed to the New Yorker and NYTimes. He has written extensively about gay bashing by muslim youths in Europe. His website is:
http://memo.brucebawer.com/
Well, it's your gig but it seems to me that the US occupation can only help homosexuals in Iraq. Once the US Pulls out, religious extremists will have an easier time doing their bad deeds.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, it's an important issue.
I'm sure Bruce Bawer is hated by the politically-correct gays in both Europe and the U.S. Like with Pim Fortuyn, some gays just don't want to hear the truth, preferring to live in a fantasy world.
ReplyDelete"Well, it's your gig but it seems to me that the US occupation can only help homosexuals in Iraq. Once the US Pulls out, religious extremists will have an easier time doing their bad deeds."
ReplyDeleteActually I saw a report that gays were living just fine under saddam now they are in hiding. For all his sins, saddam regime was laic and as such at least left gays in peace.
His removal unleashed religious leaders.
I'd like to agree with Esurnir. The American invasion and occupation (British occupation too) has only stoked up hatred and tension. Obvi0ously by destroying the infrastructure, by obliterating the quality of life for Iraqis and by playing up the tensions between religious groups in a divide and conquer approach, it was almost inevitable that gays would bear some of the brunt. I say inevitable because religious extremism is born in exactly these conditions. And the easiest targets for fundamentalists are usually those who already inhabit the margins of society and who will not find very many allies in even the secualr nationalist sections of Iraq.
ReplyDelete